Ferry disruption ‘inevitable’ as workers take industrial action

Workers at Orkney Ferries are set to take industrial action which will “inevitably result in disruption” to the services, Unite the Union says.

It has been confirmed today (August 13)  that over 20 Orkney Ferries workers will take action in an escalating dispute over pay.

The action will take the form of a continuous ban on overtime starting from 00:01 on August 28.

The union claims that because Orkney Ferries “relies” on the goodwill of workers to take shifts beyond their contracted hours, services could be reduced by the move.

This is the latest development in a pay dispute following the rejection of a two-year pay offer by Unite’s membership.

It comes after last year’s negotiation, which resulted in a 4.5 per cent pay deal being agreed.

Paula Buchan, Unite industrial officer: “The overtime ban will inevitably result in disruption to ferry services and delays for passengers but Orkney Ferries is directly responsible due to its failure to negotiate a fair deal for workers.

“Unite has repeatedly tried to resolve this pay dispute with management but they are doing their very best to make this situation harder to fix.”

The workers cover a range of roles including engineers, passenger and customer services assistants, along with chefs.

Earlier this month, RMT announced that its Orkney Ferries members had voted for industrial action, short of strike action.

Orkney Islands Council has been approached for comment.